Melissa's Posts

Dear friends,

Another day of HIV testing at STAO has brought both challenges and joy. Today, fifty foster children sponsored by STAO were brought in for testing and with yesterday’s MIRACLE of 100% negatives, the team and I prayed for nothing less than another miraculous display of God’s power.

Only one of the fifty tested today was confirmed HIV-positive. The team hid our disappointment well as we prayed for 11-year-old Sofia and held her hand, not allowing our tears to worry her or even hint that her status was a death-sentence. And in reality, it’s not.

Sofia will go for further testing and will hopefully be put on ARVs immediately. With these drugs, she should be able to live a full and vibrant life. Pray with us for Sofia - that she would know God’s love and redemptive power in an undeniable way. Pray that though her body may be weak, Jesus will be strong in her and that He will strengthen her spirit. Pray too for access to scarce ARVs and that she’ll be able to go to school soon.

Praise Jesus with us too that of 150 kids tested, only 1 has been positive. Though it is difficult to grasp why our all-powerful God would allow even one positive result, I cling to fact that “as far as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways our higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our own” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Thank you all so much for praying for us and with us. We feel your prayers from here.

Love,
Melissa.

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It’s a lazy Saturday here in Jinja. Laundry is hanging out to dry (please don’t rain, please don’t rain), the market is bustling, the sun is out, and orange soda sits in cool refrigerators tempting passers-by. After a week of working, playing, planning, praying, this lazy afternoon is a welcome reprieve.

It seems as though we’ve been on a rollercoaster ride (or maybe more appropriately, a boda-boda ride!) of emotions. Much has happened this week that has hung heavy on our hearts: We have met widows who could easily have been our peers; we have met children who know unbearable pain and unspeakable tragedy; we’ve met education and healthcare systems that are nothing less than infuriating; we’ve come face to face with how small we are in the seemingly endless problems of a country and a people who live on next to nothing.

Yet more than anything, I’ve been met with an overwhelming joy and a boundless hope in the people I’ve come to know. Yesterday, I spent an entire day with the kids at STAO. Being left alone and defenseless with 30 rambunctious 3 – 12 year olds was an intimidating thought, but with pressing matters to attend to, the rest of the team left me to entertain our favourite little mob!

What an incredible blessing it was! All we did was play all day. We read bible stories, sang songs, played hopscotch (I lost a lot despite the fact that my legs are longer than theirs! Sigh..), and just rolled around and giggled a lot. More than anyone I know, these kids know what it means to have an untouchable joy and to be loved by a God who cares for them. We read about Jesus turning the 5 loaves and 2 fish into food for a multitude, and these precious ones, who know what it means to be hungry, were just absolutely amazed and so excited to hear about their provider Jesus. Their wide eyes and huge smiles were such a sight as I reminded them that the Jesus who provided that miracle was the very same One who loved and cared for each and every one of them. Their individual stories are heartbreaking, yet their hope abounds.

On a lazy Saturday like today, I thank God for the ways He brings joy when all around seems tragic. He comforts the mourning, feeds the hungry, gives power to the weak, and loves those who have never known love.

Webaleh, Yesu. Webaleh, Yesu.

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